Herman Kruk in his diary from the Vilna Ghetto describes (25 July, 1942): "The evening undertaken by 'Young Vilna' was received with great success. Two hundred people were present. The evening was devoted to a display of drawings, pictures and reproductions from the painter’s group. Among those whose work was on display was Bentzi Michtam and Rochel Sutzkever." And in the speech given by Kruk at the event, he commented on "Bentzi Michtam who displayed his work far and wide at shows in Warsaw and Paris and received positive attention for them."

Yosef Sandel wrote:

"Among the large masses of people in the Vilna population, Ben Zion Michtam was particularly admired. He was a graphic artist and self-taught. Everything he created was simple, rough and proletariat. His works looked like instruments that require verification in order to understand their functions. Michtam’s graphic illustrations were picturesque and represented, as with many other young artists, a moment of exaltation."

Michtam also illustrated Moshe Levin’s books and worked on projects and on book covers for other Yiddish books. He took part in the presentation of Jewish ceramicists in Vilna. He also had a show in Bialystok in 1939—on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of Yiddish ceramicists in Warsaw.

In the general presentation by Michtam, for the first time in 1940 in Vilna where he displayed five of his works, his were received with great enthusiasm for their realism. Michtam did not belong to those so-called artists who merely copied the other stylistic artists. His works were clear, free and prosaic.

His nature was mild, and it demands that he be understood. He was on the brink of achieving even higher artistic acceptance. Michtam was one of Hitler’s first human sacrifices. He was dragged out of his room on Strashun Street to to the Ponar forest where along with hundreds of other Jews he was shot."
 

Sh.E. from Yekhiel Burgin.

• Joseph Frey -- Der vilner marionetn-teater "meydim," "Literarisher bleter," Warsaw, N' 25, 1935.

• Joseph Sandel-- "Umgekumene yidishe kinstler," Warsaw, 1957, Vol. 2, pages 198.

• Herman Kruk -- "Togbukh fun vilner geto," New York, 1961, pp. 319, 322, 324.